Russia escalates armament. Experts warn of Krasnopol missile

The Russian authorities have announced a proposed augmentation in the production of their 6-inch (approximately 152 mm) laser-guided artillery shell, otherwise known as the Krasnopol-M2. Furthermore, they also have plans to enhance its functioning in adverse weather conditions. This was recently communicated to the public by the British Ministry of Defense.

In the most recent intelligence report, it was highlighted that this type of ordinance is already operative with precision attacks on individual Ukrainian vehicles. However, due to production constraints within the Russian defense industry, which is unable to meet the demand for conventional ammunition, it was inferred that the planned surge in Krasnopol missile manufacturing could function as an effective way to maximize their existing production capacity.

The Krasnopol missiles are available in several versions. The fundamental variant is a 6-inch diameter missile (approximately 152 mm), but the Russians have also dabbled with an export version measuring 6.1 inches (around 155 mm). The missile is capable of a range of 12 to 16 miles (or roughly 20-25 km), and in its end flight stage, it's directed to the target with a lit laser indicator.

The report further clarified that Russia employs unmanned aircraft to allocate targets for the Krasnopol, marking them with a laser beam. However, a low cloud cover poses a serious disadvantage to the effectiveness of this missile as its laser detector does not have sufficient time to identify the laser energy and adapt its route to hit the target accurately. It's anticipated that the Russian defense industry will probably work to ameliorate Krasnopol's flight performance and reduce the time it requires for the missile to detect the laser.

The British Ministry of Defense evaluated that "as winter closes in, Russia's upgraded precision ammunition access could play a pivotal role in influencing its operational efficacy in Ukraine." They underscored the fact that Russian efforts to augment the production and enhance the Krasnopol could prove crucial for impending military operations in Ukraine.